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Best Business Smartphone: Android vs. iOS

For quite some time, the only option available for businessmen and women looking to carry out work tasks on their smartphones was to buy a BlackBerry. However, the rapid development in touch-screen technology, and consequentially user interfaces, has allowed devices running on Android and iOS software to claim a substantial slice of the market share. Let’s look at the best business smartphone…

Handsets

If Apple’s iOS models are the sort of thing you are looking for, then you only really have two choices: the iPhone 5C and the iPhone 5S. The slightly older (and cheaper) iPhone 5 model will get you by, but the regularity of new firmware updates causes each model to date at an alarming rate, and it won’t be long before you find your processor struggling to host the latest mobile apps.

When it comes to choosing between the 5C and 5S models, there really is not a lot of difference. The 5S model is the more expensive of the two, with its defining feature being the ability to gain entry to the device with fingerprint recognition. However, many people perceive this function to be somewhat gimmicky, and are not swayed by the fractionally more powerful processor and more defined camera.

After the market domination by Apple’s iOS devices, Android did not take long to catch up. Their strategy was to provide software for smartphone models which were available at varying costs, therefore making them accessible to a much broader market. The leading models running on Android software, including the Samsung Galaxy and HTC One, quickly became hugely popular amongst business users, mainly thanks to their larger screen sizes and the seemingly limitless functionality offered by apps available on Google Play.

Email

Most business mobile phones that you can buy today offer impressive email platforms, and Android and iOS devices are certainly no exception.

Slightly confusingly, Android devices offer two email apps: Email and Gmail. And unless you require integration with other Google features, including Google Docs and Google Drive, you won’t have any need for the latter.

Things are a little simpler for iPhone users, who are offered one simple, yet powerful, app. You can add all of your different email accounts and receive all messages in a single inbox. And if things are starting to get a little cluttered, you can easily add rules to dictate what actions should be applied to new messages.

Keyboard

Much like the iOS email app, Apple users are provided with a single keyboard. This ticks all the boxes, including helpful autocorrecting and the ability to undo an action with a shake. The benefit of the in-built keyboard for iPhone users is that you know exactly what you’re getting.

Android, as well as providing the default keyboard, allows users to download and try out a large number of alternatives through Google Play. There are both free and paid keyboard apps available, and if you try a few of them out, you’ll likely find something which is particularly well suited to your style of typing. For those who are always sending text messages and emails from their mobile device, it’s highly recommended that you opt for a model with a 4 inch display.

Conclusion

Both Android and iOS have a lot to offer for business users, and the advanced functionality allows for more productivity than ever before. iPhones may be the favoured option for those seeking a simple and seamless experience, whereas Android models are likely the preferred choice for those looking to delve a little further into a smartphone’s true potential.

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About Small Business Can

The idea for Small Business Can comes from an Ulster Bank initiative when we went and talked to hundreds of businesspeople and asked them about the types of business supports they most valued. The majority said that they valued the insights of other businesspeople the most. We came up with smallbusinesscan.com, a site run by businesspeople for businesspeople. Read more...